Ore-classifying apparatus.



No; 557,553. Patanted' sept. n, i905:

.1. s. Loman. on; GLASSlI-YING APPARATUS.

(Application filed Apr. 29, mos.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheeta-Shaet I.

No. 657,553. Patented Sept. ll, I900.-

J. s. LODER. ORE GLASSIFYING APPARATUS.

(Apph t filed Ap 99 1893) 2 Sheets-Shoot 2 -(Nu' Model.)

|: PETERS 00.. momurna, WASHIN UNITED STATES- PATENT Omcs.

:lOl-IN SQLODER, on ouRnncoLonnoo', ASSIGNOR OF THREE-FOURTHS TO ALExANDaoUNINcnAME, or BIRMINGl-IAM,'ALABAMA.

ORE CLiASSIFYIiNG APPARATUS;

sPEcIFicA'rrroN formingpart of Letters Patent No. 657,553, datedSeptember 11, 1900-.

mass or pulp, as it is termed,,into,the sepaother novel featureshereinafter described Application filed April 29, 1893. l

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHN S. LoDER, a citi-' zen of the United States,residing at Ouray, county of Ouray, State of Colorado, have in vented acertain new and useful Improve mentin Ore-Classifying Apparatus; andIde-' clare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description oftheinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itpertains to make anduse the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

In the concentration and separation of mine eral ore it has heretoforebeen customary to reduce the ore by a crusher to the requisite degree offineness and then introduce the rator, using, of course, the usualamount of water to produce the pulp. This pulp must; however,necessarily contain all sizes and weights of particles from the finestup to the size to which the crusher is expected to re-. duce, it as wellas minerals of various specific gravities, and this being introducedinto a single separator the latter cannot of necessity accomplish theseparation as efiectually as though the particles were of substantiallythe same size or substantially the same specific gravity, since wherewith one adjustment of the machine maximum efficiency could be attainedon the mineral of one specific gravity it requires another adjustment toattain a maximum efiiciency on mineral of another specific gravity.

My invention has for its object the production of an apparatus wherebythe ore or pulp is classified before being introduced into the separatoror concentrator that is to say, the particles of a certain range ofspecific gravity are separated from the entire mass and run to oneconcentrator, the particles of thenext adjacent range of specificgravities are separated and run to another concentrator, and so on untilthe entire volume has been divided andeach class carried to itsrespective con-;

centrator.

The invention has also for its object certain and claimed. i

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a part sectional elevation of an apparatusembodying my invention. Fig. Qis adetail of the separatinghopper. Fig. 3is a plan view of the circulating-diaphragm. Fig. 4 is a detail of thevalve or shaft seat.

construction, provided with the buckets a, and B a chute into which thecontents of the buckets are dumped, said chute leading to ahopperorV-shaped receptacle 0. In the apparatus illustrated are six ofthese receptacles or hoppers O G C C 0 0*", connected together by theconduits 0.

Connected with the lower end or point of each hopper is a conduit D,each one extending to a separator or concentrator E. From each of thelatter extends an outlet-conduit F to acommon conduit G, leading to thebase of the elevator.

I will now describe the construction of the hoppers O O, &c.

Extending vertically through each hopper is a shaft H, Fig. 2, providedon its upper end with a beveled gear H, which meshes with a beveled gearJ on. the shaft J. The shaft J is provided with cone-pulleys J Above theshaft J is another shaft K, driven from any suitable source and providedwith cone-pulleys K. By a belt connection between the shafts J and K anydesired speed may be given to the former, and consequently tothevertical shaft in the hopper. In the lower end of each hopper is a plug.or shoe M, which performs the double function of a valve and a seat orhearing for the lower end of the shaft.

Surrounding the plug M is a lining or valveseat N. The plug is providedwith a rim or flange m on its upper end adapted to bear on the seat N,and its body is provided with a longitudinal groove or recess m, largerat the lower end than at the upper. The purpose of making thislongitudinal groove tapering or larger at the lower than at the upperend is to prevent the clogging of such opening, which would occur if,the arrangement were the reverse or if the opening were of uniformdiameter throughout its length, for with the groove constructed as Ihave described any particles large enough to pass through the upper, endof the groove will be immediately discharged therefrom, because freefrom con i there is no tendency to choke or clog the disi estate tactwith the surrounding walls, and hence charge-groove.

Below the plugfis a chamber P, with the 'outletsp p communicating withtheconduit D; A set-screw Q, operated by the'handwheel Q and lockedbythe wheelQ operates to raise or lower the plu M. On the shaft H arekeyed di'aphragms l i. Each of the as;

phragms has downwai-dl'y-=pl-ojecting wings I cut from themetal to leaveopenings above,

so that when the diaphragms are revolved the pulpis agitated circulated,and elevated:

I will now describe the. general operation.

The'pulp is admitted to the elevator sit-Al carriedup and dumped intothe chute- B, by which it is conveyed to the first hop-pert).

.There'volution of the cirejulators' R stirs up land circulates themass,and the smallerand, lighter'particles will naturally work toward thecenter and be forcedupward, while the.

1 larger and heavier particles will work down the plug M, which carriesthe shaft. The pl rig the sides to the bottom. This result is'du'e tothefact that'the blades of the diaphragm,

are so curved and so arranged with relation :to'the-plane of revolutionof the diaphragm asto cause the blades to scoop up and lift,

the material, thus efifectiug'a mechanical ele= vation of the particlesof material and also establishing an upward current which tends to forcethe lighter particles upward, the heavier particles falling by gravitybetween the pe ripheral edges of the diaphragm and the wall of thehopper, thespaces between the peripheries'of the diaphragm and the wallof thehopperYbeing sufliciently wide for this purpose The spaces betweenthe edges of the die-- phragmand thehopper will beof suflicient width toallow of the passage of the particles, and these spaces mayfbe'varied byadj listing or valve Maud with it the shaft H have been raisedsufficientl y toallow the desired amount of pulp to pass between theouteredg'e or-pe' riphery of the circulators and the hopper-eats ing',and the same elevation of the plug raises the rim m'away from its seatand allows the pulp to pass to the chamber? and frem-thence to theconcentrator. Thisis of course thepulp containing these particles of thegreatest The balance has been elevatedto the top of the hopper, and asnew material is weight.

added will pass through the conduits tothe next adjacent hopper, wherethe same process is undergone and the" coarser particles sepae.rated,vand so on until the last hopper-Cis reached. .This is the finestgrade ofmi'neral in the pulp and runs directly to its esteem it tosaythat on each may be provided a reeeptacle containing that portion of thepulp from t-r'ator. The construction of the concentrw tors is immaterialin this application. Suflic'e which the dress or tailings have not beenthoroughly separated. This receptacle isconnected by the conduit F withthe conduit G. and by the latter with the elevator, so that such of thepulp as has not been thoroughly.

graded in size from O, the smallest, to G the largest, the purpose ofthis arrangement be f ing-to equalize the work to be performed in Inother each. of the hoppers or receptacles. swords-when the pulp isdelivered to the first 'receptacleit contains the heaviest particles,

and as these particles will settle to the bottom of the first hoppermore quickly. than the lighter particles will settle to the bottom'of'the succeeding hoppers I have found that by varying the size oftheagitating and elevating diaphragms or disks R the work of each hoppermay be readily adjusted to the con dition oft-lie pulpat the time it isoperated uponin the various hoppers. It will also beobserved that thehoppers O C'contain three of the circulators R, the hoppers (J 0 containtwo, andth'e hoppei' Of but one. It will also be observed that eachshaft H can be given :an'ydesired speed. "By'these' various adjustmentsthe pulp .is thoroughlyclassified and each gradeo'r class-delivered toaconcentratoradapted an dad'justed to-"separa'te that particular classmost efiectually. i

For the purpose of in'suring the emptying of the-buckets a of the:elevator A, and incidentally forthe purpose of adding water to the pulptoiusure'its' flow along the chute B (and through the various-hoppers orreceptaelse-U; I propose .t'o' directj'a' jet. of ,water into thebuckets just befhre' they reach the receivfi l'l gj ehd: of theentrant-mil jet, assisted by gravity, will. serve to there ughly cleanseand remove snot the pulp from thebuckets." This result maybeaccomplished in many different-"ways, the simplest construction knowntomebeing a waters pipe B',arranged as shown in the drawings, for theaccomplishment ofthe above-mentionedobjeet;

' umni be seen that bythe above-described apparatus'ythe' orepulplis soseparated 61? cIaSsifiGQthat a'miaxinrum efficiency n'iayY be attainedin the; concentration of the ore when :it reaches.thehconcentrator,since each machine has particles'er minerals of a statedweightwith-iwhi'ch to deal. Itwill also seen that by the classification of theore as a ove described the use of alarge'amou'nt of water is'eljviatedandthe amount of water introducedin-to,thepulp is gradu ally reduced.

To preventthe contents of thehoppers from circulating to tooagreat anextentinthe same the hoppers can, if desired be provided withstationarywings or'das-her-boards Cfiextendingiinwa-rdlyffrom the walls.

'Whil'eI have shown the use of'sixhoppers in my present apparatus, yet'the number mightlbe increased or diminished as desired,

the number depending on "the number of classes of mineral contained inthe pulp.-

It is obvious that many details of my aparatus might bealtered to fitthe exigencies IIO direction as the circulatoirs B, one or moreof V ofeach particular case where it isused with out departing from the spiritof my invention.

What I claim is- 1. An apparatus for classifying ore-pulp, consisting ofa series of V-shaped receptacles connected at their upper ends bysuitable con: duits and each provided with an outlet at its lower end,avertical shaft extending into each receptacle and one or more horizontaldiaphragms carried by said shaft, each of said diaphragms being providedwith down wardlyprojecting wings, located out of radial alinement witheach other, and means for adj usting said shaft to vary the spacebetween the diaphragms and the walls of the receptacles, substantiallyas described.

2. In an apparatus for classifyingore-pulp, the combination with aV-shaped receptacle provided with a discharge-opening at or near itsbottom of a vertical shaft extending into the receptacle,horizontaldiaphragms mounted on the shaft and a valve fol-said discharge' openingconstituting a bearing for the lower end of the shaft, said diaphragms,shaft and valve being vertically adjustable to simultaneously vary thespace between the dia phragm and the walls of the receptacle, and thesize of the discharge-opening, substantially as described.

3. In an apparatus for classifying ore-pulp the combination of aV-shaped receptacle provided with a vertical shaft for carrying meansfor agitating and elevating a portion of the contents of the receptacle,and a seat for the lower end of said shaft consisting of a plug having avalve-opening adapted to be opened by the elevation of the plug,andmeans for elevating the plug, substantially as described.

4. In an apparatus for classifying ore-pulp the combination with theV-shaped recepta-. cle and vertical shaft of a seat for the lower end ofthe shaft, said seat being in the form of a plug, filling the lower endof the receptacle, said plug provided with a rim on its upper end and alongitudinal recess in its side, said recess being larger at the lowerend than at the upper end, substantially as described.

5. An apparatus for classifying ore-pulp, consisting of V-shapedreceptacles into which the pulp is introduced successively, eachreceptacle being provided with a vertical shaft rotating at a speeddifferent from that of the other shafts and carrying diaphragms providedwith blades, and means for adjusting said shaft vertically to vary thespace be-: tween the walls of the receptacle, and the diaphragms,substantially as described.

6. An apparatus for classifying ore-pulp,

consisting of a series of V-sh'aped receptacles graduated in size andeach provided with a valved discharge-opening at or near its bottom, thesmallest receptacle receiving the supply for the series through whichthe ore is passed, an adjustable shaft in each receptacle carryingmechanism for agitating, means for varying the space between thediaphragms and walls of the receptacles, and means for giving the shaftof each receptacle a difierent speed from that of the receptacle nextadjacent, substantially as described.

7. In an apparatus for classifying ore-pulp,

the combination of an elevator for elevating 8. In an apparatus forclassifying ore-pulp, V

the combination with a V-shaped receptacle provided with adischarge-opening at or near its bottom, of a vertical shaft extendinginto the receptacle, one or more horizontal diaphragms mounted on theshaft, each of said diaphragms being provided with adownwardly-projecting wing and an opening above each wing, said wingsbeing out of radial alinement, substantially as described.

9. In an apparatus for classifying ore-pulp, the combination with aseries of receptacles suitably connected together, a bucket elevator anda chute leading from the upper end of said elevator and discharging intoone of said receptacles, of a fluid-nozzle located at the head of saidchute and directing a stream of fluid into each bucket of the elevatoras it passes the chute, substantially as described.

10. In an apparatus for classifying ore-pulp, the combination with aseries of receptacles into which the ore is successively introduced, ofa bucket elevator, a chute leading from the upper end of said elevatorand discharging into one of the said receptacles, and a fluid-nozzleadapted to discharge a stream of water upward and into each bucket as itpasses the chute and discharges its contents therein, substantially asdescribed.

JOHN S. LODER.

Witnesses:

TODD MASON, O. R. BARNETT.

